One Girl Revolution
by FreakyPumpkin
Summary: Continuation of "Footprints in the Sand"!   v Three years have passed since Phoenix met Spitfire, but she had no idea that there were still parts of her past to be uncovered.  And of course Kogarasumaru starts conquering the Trophaeum  rated T for safety
1. Whisper

**Hi, I gladly welcome you to the next part of Phoenix story.I'm very sorry for the long wait, but I've been quite busy latly and I have gotten ill again, so it took unexpectedly long for this chapter to be finished.  
**

**Three years have passed since she met Spitfire and she still hasn't entered _Genesis_. Well, who would be surprised about that. XD**

**Well, if there are any questions popping up while reading feel free to ask me. ^^ HAVE FUN!**

Chapter one: Whisper

_It is said that once the sky has been ruled by four birds: the eagle, the falcon, the goshawk and the phoenix. The feathers of the Phoenix hadn't been on fire back then, he was a bird with simply beautiful red feathers. But the sky fell for him which made the sun, the wife of the sky, jealous of that certain bird. One day she called out to him and asked him to come near her because she wanted to tell him something. The phoenix flew higher and as he got nearer to the sun, she set his feathers on fire. The phoenix screamed in pain and fell down from the sky, who was forced to helplessly watch the beloved bird falling towards the earth. But the people who were living on the earth looked up as they heard the phoenix screaming. They were caught by this never seen before beauty of the burning feathers and laid out a trap to catch the phoenix who got caught in their net. The falcon noticed what was happening and hurried to help his friend, but was also caught by the people. They didn't understand the pain of the phoenix and put him into a cage for everybody to be seen. As time went by the phoenix turned into a human-form. This way he didn't have to suffer the pain of the burning feathers; he didn't scream anymore and so the falcon, who had been able to free himself, couldn't hear him anymore. First he thought his dear friend was dead, but he couldn't believe that and swore to himself that he would never give up searching till he had found the phoenix._

But the falcon wasn't the only one who was looking for the phoenix; the wind was searching the earth as well and he had sworn to himself to make the phoenix his own to protect him from any pain which could be caused by the sky.

"_Listen to me, dear phoenix, I'll free your wings from those heavy chains if you give me your heart in exchange", the wind was whispering._

"Whisper? Is that really the team's name?"

Phoenix raised her view which was filled with confusion to look straight into Spitfire's eyes, but the Flame King only took another sip of coffee and nodded.

"What's wrong with the name?", he asked absent-minded while looking at some documents which were lying on the kitchen table. They contained detailed Data about the members of said team called 'Whisper'. Phoenix snorted and took a closer look at the photography of a sticker from that team which had been found at the entrance of a skater park.

"Dunno, seems kinda . . . lame, don't you think? I mean – oh, wait!"

She had spotted something at the left upper edge of the symbol, there were five little words which she hadn't noticed before. "So . . . much . . . more . . . than . . . a – oh, than a whisper. Now I'm getting it . . . it says that the team called Whisper is so much more than a whisper."

Spitfire looked up with an amused grin on his face. "Doesn't seem to be that lame anymore, hm?"

Phoenix stuck out her tongue which made Spitfire chuckle.

"Anyway", he mentioned, "I'd like you to watch a certain match for me . . ."

With these words he took some sheets of paper out of the bag which was standing right next to the kitchen table. The red-haired girl eyed him sceptically. "I'm not going to babysit Simca again . . . I'm always ending up in trouble which she had caused", she stated. The Flame King sighed.

"It's not babysitting, Phoenix, I just wanted you to prevent a worst case scenario from happening." The girl pouted and mumbled: "I still got chased by those damn Rezboa Dogs the whole night . . . . for _nothing_."

Spitfire chuckled again and took another sip of coffee. "Quit whining – the battle I'd like you to observe has nothing to do with the swallow." Phoenix didn't believe that at all. "Almost every AT-battle on the whole island has something to do with Simca", she stated matter-of-factly.

"Almost", the red-haired man countered and Phoenix gave in. She sighed annoyed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever – what's the deal for tonight?"

Spitfire smiled and didn't even try to hide his satisfaction about winning that 'battle'. "Okay, I'd like to watch the match of that rookie Simca is so very interested into lately." With these words he raised a certain sheet of paper. Phoenix took a closer look at the photo and raised an eyebrow. "I still can't believe that she's going so very crazy over that kid. I'd say that he's nothing more than a middle-school punk." She shrugged and returned the paper to Spitfire. "But whatever, what am I supposed to do?"

"I'd like you to observe a match of the Team 'Whisper' . . . They're not participating in the Parts War, so, it's gonna be an Underground Race – set on the Shinjuku highway, starting at midnight."

"Sounds interesting", Phoenix mumbled while chewing on a slice of dry bread. "Do you have any further information about that team except from the photograph of their emblem-sticker and a bit of the personal data of their riders?"

"Well, this exactly is the reason why I'm asking you to watch the battle."

The girl stopped chewing for a moment and pierced Spitfire with her eyes. "You're kidding, right? The team's no participant in the Parts War – why the hell shall I gather information about them . . . are you scared I'd do something stupid if I've got nothing to do?"

"Not at all . . . but the leader of that team is a very skilled rider of then Wind Road."

Phoenix narrowed her eyebrows. "Oh and the only person who'd ever be interested in a skilled rider is our beloved Pinky."

Spitfire sighed and emptied his cup of coffee. "Okay, you've got that one, but Simca is not the one who wants to know something about that rider."

The red-haired girl eyed him sceptically, but this time she looked at him with serious eyes and he thought that he could almost see a glance of fear . . . _almost_.

Phoenix herself had tried out the Wind Road when starting ATs, but it never worked out good enough. It wasn't because of the fact that she didn't have enough talent – she just couldn't grab the wind, she couldn't spread her wings at the right moment . . . not to mention that she couldn't spread her _real_ wings at all. It was still bugging her though she had shown a great potential in following Spitfire on the Flame Road. But Spitfire was always looking for skilled riders of the ind Road who could be teaching Phoenix.

"Tch . . . whatever; I'm going to watch that battle, but only because you asked me to." She rose from her chair and stormed out of the kitchen. Spitfire let her rush out and just slightly smiled as he recognized that Pheonix had grabbed the two sheets paper with the data of the team called 'Whisper' which had been lying on the table.

_Name: Joy Fields_

_Age: 14_

_Rank: Captain_

Phoenix sat outside on the balcony of Spitfire's apartment as the dawn tainted the sky with tones of red and purple. It had been about three years since Spitfire had picked her up from the streets and still she felt like a ball thrown around in this world of ATs without knowing where to turn to – she wasn't even sure if she really hadn't become one of Simca's experiments. "Damn, this sucks . . .", Phoenix muttered to herself and bit the nail of her thumb. Then she looked at the picture on the sheet of paper in her hand. It did show a young girl with long, white hair and clear, ice-blue eyes; the smile on her lips didn't warm up the expression in her eyes at all. _Wind Road, hmmm . . ._ an amused smiled was formed on her lips. _There really must be a cold wind blowing when someone as young as her managed to become the leader of such a great team._

Phoenix didn't know that this battle would be the first step into the right direction.

The night-sky was of a clear ultramarine blue and thousands of twinkling stars were looking down on Phoenix as she left the apartment. Spitfire had already left two hours ago, so she had switched off all the lights and she had controlled twice if every window was closed.

"What a weird night", she whispered as she was slowly rolling down the street. Although spring was almost already over, the breeze blowing was oddly freezing. Phoenix lowered her face so that her nose was completely hidden by the scarf which was lying on her shoulders. The starting point of the race between _Whisper_ and another team called _Dashing Moon _was almost empty except of the team members though Phoenix honestly doubted that the whole teams were there. These underground races were only about money. Sure those teams had gotten emblems and their stickers could also be found all over their area, but they didn't give a damn about the Trophaeum. Behind these battle there were always stuck-up guys with too much free time on their hands. The police had had put a closer eye on underground car races, but controlling these kinds of AT-battles was way harder.

Soon Phoenix had spotted the teams leader Joy; well, she wasn't very hard to be found because of her shining white hair and her clothes were white, too, except of those thin, light-blue lines running across the fabric. Her piercing clear-blue eyes were observing the surrounding and after a while she recognized Phoenix sitting at the edge of a near-by building. The red-haired girl returned the girl's view without blinking an eye. There really was something odd about that girl, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it by now. Joy titled her head slightly and smiled and the thing which sent chills all over Phoenix' body was the fact that this smile reached her eyes and made them shine like fresh fallen snow. Then she turned towards a female rider who had approached her and seemed to be asking her leader something.

"Weird girl", Phoenix whispered. She let her gaze wander over the different riders and didn't feel much of a surprise as she noticed about five men wearing black suits standing a bit off the scene in front of two big limos. She narrowed her eyebrows and clenched her teeth as she saw them exchanging money as pointing at Joy down on the street at the starting line. It made her angry and she didn't know why.

PENG!

The sound of the pistol did cut the night in two with a flashy lightning. The wheels of the ATs of the running riders were spinning like crazy, smoke rose from the street and the air was filled with the smell of burnt rubber. The two chosen riders took off like speeding bullets as they heard the pistol's sound. A cool breeze blew through Phoenix' flaming red hair and it almost seemed like the wind was following the two racers.

They would win; she knew it. An amused smile was formed on Joy's lips as she watched the riders disappearing at the first turn of the highway. A hissing sound pulled her out of her thoughts as one of the riders who were placed along the race course got in touch with her.

"They reached and right they passed the first check point", the scratchy voice out of her headset reported.

"'kay, who's passed the check point first?", she asked with business-woman-tone.

"That jackass from _Dashing Moon_ . . . 0,0143 seconds earlier."

Though the rider on the other end of the line seemed too be clearly upset about that fact, it actually made a creepy smile appear on Joy's face. "Thanks", she answered shortly and the connection was cut off. _I don't have to worry, Julia is a very experienced rider and falling behind is exactly her style in getting over with such a long distance race. She'd be an idiot if she wouldn't take advantage of the enemies wind shadow in the beginning. _Joy took a deep breath and looked up at the unexpected audience on that nearby rooftop. Flaming red hair, piercing, red eyes and that broken wing shadow behind her. There was no chance for a mistake it was definitely her. Joy chuckled. _Found you, little phoenix._

"Which school she attends?" Spitfire looked up at Phoenix with an honestly confused look in his eyes. "But just yesterday you clearly stated the Whisper wouldn't be interesting, not even if it was the last fucking team on earth – to say it with your words."

"So what? I simply wanna know which school she goes to, that's all", Phoenix shot back with a grumpy tone in her voice. Spitfire sighed and slightly shook his head as he stood up from the couch and walked over to his room where he was keeping the data-sheets of every team that could be interesting in any way to _Genesis_. He pulled out few little notes and looked them through searching for the information Phoenix desired.

"Uhm . . . that would be Shinonome Eastside", he mentioned after a while. "Oh, sure, now I remember how I had gotten the information about that team in the first place – it's the same school as that crow-boy attends."

Phoenix only shrugged and took the little yellow paper from Spitfire. Then she grabbed her jacket and left the apartment.

"Where are you going?"

"Taking a walk!"

"You are the most stubborn girl on earth", Spitfire shouted after her, but the door had been already closed. But she still had been able to to hear him because soon after he had shouted, Phoenix punched the door from the outside and yelled back: "I'M NOT!"

Then she took off towards the shinonome eastside middle school. Well, of course she had no idea were that school was, but there was still one hour left till school would end and considering the speed with which she could search the city it should be possible to arrive before the last lesson. The only fact which would be still luck, was if the girl would stay till the end of school today.

She found the middle school about fifteen minutes before the bell rang. The building was actually nothing special; three ashlar-formed concrete blocks and at the top of the main building there was a giant clock which seemed to be stuck on half past eight. Phoenix shrugged and took a step forward as she noticed a sticker of an AT-team at the entrance gate.

"Kings of the night . . .?", she muttered under her breath, but then she took a closer look at the other sticker which was overlapping the one she read before. There was a poorly sketched crow on it with a speech bubble over her head, but Phoenix couldn't read was was written in there. _Geez, that's the worst handwriting I've ever seen . . . _the red-haired girl thought and grimaced in disgust as suddenly an odd thought entered her mind.

"Don't tell me that's the emblem of that crow-kid, Simca is so all over lately." With these words she turned to finally entered the school ground, but suddenly there rushed a boy outside the building, holding a little box in his hands and screaming "MATSUTAKE MUSHROOM!". Phoenix looked after him and decided to wait on top of the small walls surrounding the the entrance gate. She took off her ATs because wearing them on enemy's territory was never a good idea even if the enemy's team was nothing more than a bunch of stuck-up middle school-punks. After stuffing her ATs into the bag she had brought with her, she put on a pair of simple sneakers and waited for the bell to ring.

Fifteen minutes later pupils started leaving the school building and heading towards the entrance gate, where Phoenix was sitting about a meter above their heads. She ignored every puzzled look and every mumbling because she might seemed being relaxed on the outside, but every single muscle in her body was tensed. Her heart was racing like crazy and she hadn't even spotted that white-haired girl yet. "Damn . . .", she mumbled while chewing her lower lip. What did that girl have that it threw her out of her balance so easily?

"Hey, had Simca sent you here to observe Ikki?"

Phoenix lowered her gaze and her eyes met the ones of a skinny, blond guy with white beanie on his head who was staring up at her. "Why the heck should I act on the Pinky's order?", she shot back with anger boiling up inside of her. The boy seemed to be honestly surprised by her answer, but he picked up courage again. "So, why are you here?", did he want to know with a sceptical look in his eyes. Phoenix started getting annoyed by him. "It' none of you business, kid -"

"Oh, could it be that you're looking for me?"

Phoenix and that boy with the beanie turned their heads towards the direction where that other voice had come from. Flaming red orbs met with ice blue mirrors of a soul worth leading others. Phoenix took a deep breath. Suddenly there was a rather strong, cold wind blowing which made a shiver running down her spine. Joy didn't wait for an answer, she just turned towards the beanie-boy and mentioned:

"I guess, you can go now, Kazu, I'll handle this by myself."

The boy called Kazu took a last look at Phoenix who didn't pay any attention to him anymore. So he turned around and slowly started heading home or wherever he was about to go. "Well, if you wanna talk to me you might have to accompany on my way home because my mother is waiting for me", Joy said after a while and showed of the best innocent smile she could do. But Phoenix wasn't fooled by that, so Joy gave up and started walking away from the school. A dull sound behind told her that the red-haired girl was following her and a calculating grin appeared on her face.

"Why did you want to talk to me?", she asked as they were walking along the silently flowing river. Phoenix didn't answer right away, but then she opened her mouth.

"How did you become the team of such a great team?", she wanted to know. Her voice was calm and low. "I don't know . . . I guess I was born with some kind of organizational talent which was needed to arrange the different battles against the right teams. We aren't participants in the Parts War as you might know", Joy explained and shrugged, but then she continued:

"Okay, I've answered you question, now it is your time to answer mine."

Pheonix eyed her sceptically, but she didn't refuse doing so. Joy smiled again and it didn't reach her eyes again.

"I'd like to know if you know the legend about the four birds who once ruled the sky . . .?"

Phoenix stopped immediately and after a few steps Joy recognized that the other girl wouldn't start walking again, so she stopped, too, and looked back. The younger girl enjoyed the pure surprise in those beautiful red eyes.

"Who are you?", Phoenix asked with a confirmed voice which was suddenly cold as ice. It made Joy smile growing even wider. A strong wind started blowing and it was so cold that Phoenix felt er cheeks being tainted red. "I'm Joy Fields", the other girl stated matter-of-factly, but the sound of her voice did reach parts of Phoenix' which had started to breath again back at the day when she had found out about Spitfire's hidden piano. But they were still nothing more than cloudy pictures. It became harder to breath, the wind grew stronger, it got entangled in her long, red hair and it was drawing so hard that Phoenix had to close her eyes because of the pain. Her skin was hurting because of the cold and a tornado of pictures inside of her head was driving her mind completely crazy.

"I know who you are." Suddenly there was a whispering voice, but Phoenix didn't have the heart to open her eyes.

"Who are you?", the red-haired girl asked again, but this time there was pure desperation entering her voice.

"That doesn't matter right now", the voice responded. "All that matters at the moment is that I've found you . . . just listen to me, dear phoenix, I'll free your wings from those heavy chains if you give me your heart in exchange." Then Phoenix suddenly felt lips being pressed against her own, but they weren't warm and soft, they were cold and hard like shaped ice. Finally she managed to get back the control over her body and she pushed the other girl – at leas she thought that it was Joy's doing – away. Heavy breathing and shaking Pheonix sank down to the ground. Cold sweat was running down her spine and as she looked around her she recognized that she was completely alone at the waterside of the river. No other human being could be seen. Phoenix clenched her teeth.

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!"

Then she calmed down a little and looked at her right hand which was still shaking, she noticed that her heart was beating like crazy. It was no unpleasant feeling. Breathless she looked up at the sky at closed her eyes for a short moment.

_It felt like soaring up in the greatest heights of the sky._

**Well, that's it for the first chapter ^^ hope you liked it. Any guesses who that white-haired girl could be? **

**Btw, the exams of the Abitur are coming up, so you might a little longer for the next chapters then when I was writing "Footprints in the Sand". u.u**

**See you at the next chapter ^^v**

**FreakyPumkin**_  
_


	2. Long lost Memory

**Hello, everyone XD **

**I bet you thought this day would never come, but here it IS! ^^ I finally finished the second chapter and believe me that it wasn't that easy because i think restarted writing this thing about four times till I got to this version. X3 **

**But anyway, here it goes: I really wanna thank you guys for waiting so long, adding this story to your favorite list or story alert list, and especially I wanna thank those two dear readers who left reviews ^^ THAK YOU, Meg L.H. and Bubbles227.**

**I hope you enjoy the chapter and if there is something that confuses you, feel free to ask me because while rewriting the chapter again and again I kind lost the overview a little. XD Well, HAVE FUN and maybe you feel like leaving a review after getting to the end of this chapter. ^^v**

Chapter two: Long lost Memory

"My, the sun is already setting", Yayoi mumbled when she stepped outside of the school entrance. She had agreed on helping her sports teacher to clean up the running course behind the school building and the changing rooms for the upcoming competition against the track team of a girl's school. She shouldered her schoolbag and started walking home while thinking the things through which still had to be done during the next days.

"'Kay I'll take a shower at home and then phone, I hope she has already asked her aunt about the catering." But she kinda doubted that her friend had done that by now because since that AT-battle about one weeks ago Emily was all over that boy Kazu from their class. Yayoi couldn't help but slightly smile about her friends new obsession - sure, Kazu wasn't the ugliest guy in school, but still Yayoi had a feeling that it wouldn't be easy for Emily to make him her boyfriend, although she had no such experience herself. Okay, there had been that guy in Kindergarden which could be referred to as her first love, but by now she knew that it was nothing more than a temporary crush. Since that she didn't even experience something like a crush anymore, but if her mother was right she'd meet her first boyfriend in college.

"Nah, whatever, I better get home - otherwise my mom will be just worried again for no reason." With these words she walked a bit faster while searching the pockets of her jacket for her mp3-player.

She found it after a few moments, but the cable of her earphones was all messed up, so she decided not to hear music on the way home. A annoyed sigh escaped her lips, but then she suddenly recognized the shadow of someone sitting on the low wall next to her. She followed the shadow which was drawn out on the pavement by the setting sun and her view ended up meeting the piercing, yellow eyes of a boy which seemed to be tainted gold by the soft light of the setting sun. His hair was brown or maybe dark-red, Yayoi couldn't say that for sure. He was wearing ATs, but it didn't seem to be the way that he was waiting for an enemy to arrive. He was just sitting there, looking down at her and Yayoi couldn't get herself to look away because as a warm breeze moved the boy's hair and there were a cross-shaped scare over his right eye. But just as she thought that there was something odd about the pupil of his right eye a distant sound made him breaking the eye-contact. Yayoi blinked a few times then there was that noise again, it sounded like the sudden break of a speeding car . . . excited screams were mixed with a fast heartbeat, exhausted breaths. Then there was a sudden movement which she recognized at the corner of her eye and as she turned her head back towards the wall the boy was gone. Yayoi looked up and down the street, but there was no sign of a boy on ATs. "What the . . .", the girl mumbled and suddenly she recognized that her own heart was beating like crazy. Who was that?

Into the emerging silence she could hear the distant sound of the fight or whatever it was - and the high-pitched scream of a bird . . . a falcon?

Yayoi raised her view at the sky and there she could really see a little dark point, a bird, that was sailing in the crazy heights of the sky.

"Shu . . . da . . . who in th . . . ."

Screaming voices interrupted by the creaky sounds of spinning wheels. Bursting metal and the smell of burnt rubber. They were getting nearer every second and Yayoi felt her feet being glued to the ground, no matter how loud she screamed "MOVE!" at herself in her head, her body didn't move an inch. Then she could see the first sparks flying through the air, dark silhouettes of several people appeared in the side street. The noise got louder, the voice got clearer and the suddenly there was something like a fire burning between the high walls of the houses standing on both sides. The shaky shadows of the riders were dancing over the bricks of the walls; Yayoi counted about three people - two against one, but they weren't fighting like she had thought first. It seemed more like they were . . .

"Racing." The word slipped out of her mouth without her even noticing. The next second the three riders bursted out of the shadow of side street, immerging into the orange light of the setting sun and Yayoi was caught by the sight of the rider who was at the front. It was a girl with flaming red hair which seemed to be burning in the evening sunlight, she hit the street with one foot, the wheels of her ATs spinning like crazy, sparks flying through the air as she did a short break to change the direction because the running course was apparently leading long the main street. But at the moment when she turned around her eyes met the grey-blue ones of Yayoi. The sunlight shadowed her face, but there was no shadow covering her eyes although her long, red bangs should be casting a cloud over them. Shining red orbs seemed to look right through her and telling her "What are you doing here?". The next moment the girl took off towards the goal of her race. Yayoi didn't even notice the other two riders anymore till they got past her and the strong wind they created due to their speed, pulled on her jacket.

As soon as she didn't see them anymore Yayoi felt her legs shaking and she was breathing unsteadily. Then she suddenly began to run, it was almost like her feet were moving on their own, her nerves slowly calmed down as she passed the houses on her way home. She tried to ignore the quiet sounds of the spinning wheels and she stopped breathing through her nose to forget the smell of burnt rubber. But the one thing she couldn't forget were these two eyes, those red orbs which were burnt into her memory. However she wasn't scared of these eyes, it was just like she had seen them before somewhere, but she had no idea were that could have been. The thing which really scared her, which made a cold shiver running down her spine and which made her forgetting the starting pain of her leg muscles were these almost golden eyes of the boy with the two scars over the right eye. And the sudden sound of the falcon's scream above her head made her run even faster.

#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#

Phoenix didn't like these races that took place in empty side streets and on poorly lit highways, but it was quite a good possibility to earn money as a good and - more important - fast rider. At night, drawn together by the soft darkness that the setting sun left behind, the best riders mostly of the Flame Road met outside and it was like the door to another world was opened. A world where nobody cared about emblems, areas or the Trophaeum, nobody did tremble when the names 'Genesis' or 'Sleeping Forest' were mentioned. At night the teams 'Whisper', 'Screaming Death' and 'Cross' were feared the most.

No emblems

no areas

no ranks

no rules . . .

Risking a quick glance behind her Phoenix noticed that the two riders of 'Bloody Stars' had caught up again. She sighed and bit her lower lips as she increased the pressure on her wheels a little. Actually she wasn't into that whole fighting at all, but when the cafe she was working at closed for winter holidays the first time, she had to accept that she had to look for another possibility to earn money till spring when the cafe would open again. Looking for a second job wasn't her greatest wish because she already had enough trouble getting the first one - after all she had never visited an official school. (Sure, she had had lessons back at the laboratory and she wasn't as young as she seemed to be, but explaining that to an employer would have taken longer than convincing him that she was able to the job even without the standard qualifications of a graduation or something like that.) However, Spitfire told her about the fact that some riders were racing for money in so-called Underground Races. He had suggested her to try it out and since that Phoenix was racing across the japanese highways in freezing winter nights.

But this race was different - it was different the same way as the three races before. The cafe wasn't closed yet, she didn't need the price money, but she was still accepting the challenges. 'Whisper' was the reason this time, their leader was the reason because Phoenix figured out after the second time of visiting her school that meeting her there wouldn't lead to anything. That girl was perfect at play-acting, only a minority even knew that she was riding ATs and they only got to know this by accident. So, Phoenix had to face her at another level - the Underground. Due to her break during summer Phoenix had no real idea about what was going on at the moment at the scene, she also had never been very interested in the gossip of the other riders before because she had never been the member of a team and her only reason why she was racing in the first place was the money, not meeting weird friends or getting rid of stress. This race and the others before had been the first steps towards that monster called 'Whisper'.

Phoenix would have almost collided with street lamp because she was so deep in thoughts, but just as she was about to hit the green metal, she snapped out of her daze and avoided the hindrance. Behind her she could hear the other two riders laughing, but she didn't care about it as long as she was the one who would cross the finish line first. She took a sharp curve into a poorly lit side street where she had to jump over a couple of trash cans. Sparks flew through the air as empty cans flew out of her way after a slight collision with her crazy spinning wheels. One of the cans collided with the wall of one of the houses they passed, it was repelled and hit one of the riders at the head. The one who was hit shouted curses throughout he air, but it was a language Phoenix couldn't understand. The other one was furiously looking at the narrow walls and shouting for himself. "DAMN! Who in the world choose this freaking' course?", he yelled into the micro of the headset sticking out of his ear.

Phoenix chose this moment of anger to speed up again, she bursted out of the side street planning on taking a short-cut above the rooftops before the other ones would notice were she was heading to. But just as she had left the side street, she noticed a girl standing on the pavement looking at her with shock-widened eyes. She had long, dark-brown hair which was arranged into two pigtails and her eyes were colored grey-blue like clouds filled with raindrops. What the heck was she doing there? It wasn't the time for a young girl to wander around alone. Then Phoenix recognized that the sun had only started setting right after the race had been started. Why was she racing so early? What did she wanna achieve in desperately looking for these early challenges - she had only accepted challenges when the sky was already pitch-black. The darker it was the less people she'd see on the running course, the less eyes she'd met with her own - the less times she'd feel being judged for racing like this to earn money. But these eyes didn't judge her, they just noticed her, focused on her and it seemed like the girl tried to remember where they have met before. Phoenix, too, had the weird feeling of a deja-vu by looking at these eyes filled with surprise and confusion, but then anger started boiling up inside of the redhead. God damn, stop this emotional shit, you've got enough problems right now!, she yelled at herself, Get your mind back on the road, why should you even care the slightest bit about some random teenage girl! She has nothing to do with you! NOTHING AT ALL!

With these thoughts Phoenix focused on the running course again, it was way too late to take the short-cut.

+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+

"Why did I stop playing the piano again, mom?" Weird, that she thought about it it right now.

"Honey, don't you remember? You entered the track team and wanted to focus stronger on your physical training."

"Ah, right . . .", Yayoi mumbled absent-minded turning back at her laptop. She was supposed to do her homework, but ended up writing mails with Emily. There was a ringing sound and a little animated envelope appeared on her screen. She clicked on it an Emily's newest message could be read.

- Hey, how about going with Ikki and the others to this AT-battle they've been talking about?

Yayoi sighed and started to lazily type her response:

+ Why should I come with you? It's just the way that you wanna be with Kazu . . . just because we've helped Ikki during his fight with Bucca doesn't mean we're best friends now.

- ARGH! Did you eat something wrong? If you just keep on sitting in your room after all day long you'll never get a boyfriend.

+ Sure . . . because I'm so crazy about getting one.

- *poke* Stop being so grumpy, Yayoi-chan. Please come with us, I can't turn Kazu down now, the fight is tomorrow evening - come on, I know that you're free tomorrow.

+ . . .

- Hey, maybe you'll meet the man of your dreams tomorrow. ^^v

+ Oh yeah, at an abandoned factory . . . that's real romance.

- Great, I'll take that as a yes, thanks, Yayoi, you're the best!

Emily went offline and Yayoi leaned her chin on her right hand looking at the 'offline'-message while she was mumbling to herself: "I have the persistent feeling that I've missed the point where I agreed to her plans."

The girl with the red hair and those piercing eyes were already almost forgotten.

#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#

She would have almost lost and all because of that girl. Phoenix bit her lower lip and kept chewing it as she went into the kitchen to get some orange juice.

"What's with that grumpy attitude, Phoenix? You've won the race, didn't you?", Spitfire's voice sounded out of the living-room. "I almost lost, Spit, that's the point here", the redhead shot back before gulping down a whole glass of juice. She refilled the glass and went back into the living-room where Spitfire was sitting on the couch reading some random magazine. A soft chuckle escaped the older man's lips as he raised one hand to ruffle through the red hair of his grumpy (I love that word XD) roommate. "You'll get wrinkle if you keep looking like this", he teased her, but the mocking grin disappeared from his face as he noticed the worried look in her eyes. He put the magazine aside and took his hand back.

"Hey, what's wrong, Phoenix? Something happened today?", he asked carefully. The younger girl closed her eyes and sighed deeply before answering:

"I don't know, lately I have the feeling that there's something that I have forgotten - something important."

Spitfire nodded slowly. "Kay", he whispered, "something about you're past? The time at the laboratory?" He had never mentioned the name 'Sleepy Hollow' again in the past three years. But Phoenix just shook her head. "No, it's something that had happened before I had been transported into this thing. The time back in the sky when I was still able to fly freely - I mean, what happened in the first place before those creeps scientists did find me? Is the 'legend' true? Have my feathers been burned? Did something else happen, did someone break my wings and I forgot who it was and why it happened? Just what the hell - I'm meeting pope who are confusing me with no real reason, they just look at me, talk to me and something inside of head goes crazy!" She stopped heavy breathing and placed the glass on the little table in front of the couch. Then she covered her face with both hands and shook her head slightly. Spitfire didn't say anything, he just looked down on her, feeling a littlest guilty for simply accepting the story she had told him and believing that she'd do the same. Phoenix isn't human, he reminded himself, she's got the soul of a really bird - a bird with a past that's more than a legend.

"What's wrong with you're wings?", Spitfire asked carefully. Phoenix didn't look up as she answered with a tired voice:

"It's nothing, I tried to spread them once, but it didn't work and it did hurt like crazy, so I stopped trying it - I always thought that it was because of the human body . . . but i kinda started doubting that."

"After meeting Joy Fields?"

The younger redhead nodded, still covering her face with both hands. Her voice was dull due to that. "I started doubting a lot of things since that day . . ."

Spitfire waited a littlest if she'd continue, but she didn't. On the other hand he didn't really know what to say, so he kept silent, too. But after a while the emerging silence became so very heavy that the Flame King felt as if there was something vey big lying on his chest. "I'm sorry that I can't be of any greater help", he said, but Phoenix shook her head and finally looked up at him.

"You're already helping pretty much by just being here", she mentioned and a encouraging smile was growing on her lips. Then she grabbed the glass again and took a sip of juice while Spitfire still felt pretty helpless, but he didn't say anything. Silence again. If it would be going on like this, it's be a very long night.

"Ne, Spit", Phoenix mumbled suddenly, the glass still near her lips. Her eyes focused the switched-off TV as she continued:

"Do you think it is alright for me to be here?"

Spitfire opened his mouth to say 'Yes, of course!' with all his belief, but then something stopped him. It was a weak picking pain near his heart that stopped his voice from telling Phoenix what she'd expect to hear. He closed his mouth again, turned his eyes to the dark TV-display and whispered:

"I don't know."

Phoenix face was mirrored in the dark display and Spitfire was actually quite surprised as there was a weak, but thankful smile appearing on her lips.

**That's it for the second one! XD For everyone who slightly gets annnoyed by mentioning this guy with crosshaped scar over his right eye without explaining who inthe world he is and what his role inthis story is: I guess, I'll reveal a little more in the upcoming chapters. X3 If you disliked something else, let me know, if you like something pretty much, let me know . . . .uhm, yeah, and so on XD**

**Oh, and of course if you've got some ideas, wishes or whatever concerning the story line, feel free to ask me, maybe I can add it to my plans ^^v**

**See you at the next chapter!**

**FreakyPumpkin**


	3. Princess of the South

**Hey everybody ^^**

**I OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCE MY FIRST MAJOR WRITING-BLOCK! Oh my gosh, it was so terrible and I hope the chapter didn't become that bad. u.u Well, as promised a few more secrets will be revealed *cough* and a few other will remain unresolved. XD However, I really really am terribly sorry that the chapter took that long, but I had absolutely no idea how to go on after the first two pages T.T Please accept my apology. **

**Well, have fun with the new chapter! (Everybody who is going to be surprised about Akira's sudden appearance, well, I needed a colleague for Phoenix and I didn't want to make you remember any more OCs ^^v and Akira needs a job, too, while leading Behemoth X3)**

Chapter three: Princess of the South

The cafe Phoenix was working at wasn't very big, it's location was in side street of the shopping mall, but they had plenty of regular customers who were also a little weird - everyone in his/her own way. There was a woman for example who only came to drink coffee at one table and after finishing the fifth cup of it she'd walk over to another empty table to order some cake. Another one was a middle-aged man wearing a black suit (not caring for the weather) with a laptop who always ordered the same cake and a cup of hot chocolate, Phoenix had to place the plate with the cake first and the cup at the right side of the plate because if she didn't do so, the man would jump on his feet screaming the he couldn't work like this and furiously leaving the cafe. The redhead had been so very confused the first time she served that man that she couldn't speak a clear word for about three minutes. Another one was a very old lady - Phoenix was always impressed that she was able to make her way to the cafe by herself - who seemed to have some sort of alzheimer because she always asked Phoenix if the colleague she was working with was her boyfriend and if her hair was really red or if she had dyed it. That lady drank tea, another sort of tea for every day of the week and after two weeks Phoenix learned that this lady had a husband who strongly refused to be served by a woman. On the other hand there was also a young woman visiting the cafe every second day who started kicking any male waiter who came nearer than two meters to her table - Phoenix had observed this habit at other bistros and cafes of the sopping mall, too. She was always wearing a wide skirt with flower patterns on it, a bright red top and she always tried getting Phoenix to go on a date with her. Phoenix refused kindly every time and after that the woman starts stroking her hair while Phoenix placed the ordered cup of milk and the cup of black tea on the table.

"That woman never eats something", Phoenix had stated one day and her colleague only looked at her with a raised eyebrow before mentioning that she should be happy that this was her only problem concerning that costumer. "Oh, come on, don't be a cry-baby, Akira, she only kicked you once." But the brown-haired man wasn't quite satisfied with this answer.

"You've got no idea how much force she had put in it. I couldn't walk for two days", he explained, but without much success because phoenix just gave him a sugary smile and said:

"Hey, you're timing was perfect then, it happened on a friday." Akira scowled at her and playfully hit her wit this dishtowel. "You're not helping here", he muttered, but Phoenix just kept grinning. Shaking his head Akira went to a table where a couple was sitting who wanted to pay. Just as that couple left the cafe a girl entered and phoenix would have lost dropped the cup she was about to put into the dishwasher. "What the hell", she mumbled and skeptically eyed that girl as it walked towards an empty table on the right side near the counter. The girl had long, white hair, light-blue eyes and there was a white bag with blue stripes on it and the the emblem of the team 'Whisper' on it which had been engraved to Phoenix' mind since that day. Almost automatically she walked over to the girl and stopped right in front of the table. Joy looked up as she noticed that somebody was approaching her and when she saw that it was Phoenix a wide smile grew on her lips - an honest one which didn't seem to be as creepy as in the night of their first meeting.

"Hello, would you like to order something?" The question seemed kinda weird because Joy didn't even take a look at the menu, but the by looking into Phoenix' eyes Joy could discover a completely different question if it wasn't already a clear order. Explain yourself! What do you know about me?

"Would you mind taking place over there?" With these words Joy pointed at the other chair standing at the table and after a few moment Phoenix nodded and took place on that chair, but she crossed her arms and there was still no sign of a smile on her lips. "Uhm, okay, I guess . . . we both kinda got a - uhm . . . bad start, so I wanna do this again - and properly this time." The redhead was surprised because the girl sitting across from her seemed almost shy and as she raised her hand in a greeting pose it she seemed like a fourteen year-old for the first time. Phoenix didn't copy the gesture immediately, but after looking a few times at the girl's face, at her hand and then back at her face, she finally the younger one's hand and shook it slightly.

"My name's Joy Fields, nice to meet you", Joy introduced herself, still trying hard to keep that carefree smile on her face while Phoenix didn't try to hide her impressions of that meeting at all.

"Phoenix", she shortly mentioned and as they let go of each others hand, Joy's shoulders finally sank and a tired sigh escaped her lips. She lowered her gaze and started chewing her lower lip - a habit which Phoenix had to smile at because she was doing it herself any time she felt uneasy. Suddenly she felt guilty for not honoring that girl's honest efforts to improve their "relationship" - if it could be called like that by now. She sighed and placed her elbows on top of the table and looked thoughtfully at the other girl.

"Okay, why did you come here?", she asked with a softer voice as the silence between them kinda became awkward. Joy raised her head and her eyes were filled with hope, pure hope and Phoenix started wondering if that really was the same girl she had met the other day at the school.

"I-i wanted to . . . to apologize for my behavior, I guess, it was a bit too much for you." Phoenix nodded without understanding a single thing- too much of what? Just what was this girl talking about?

"Kay", she muttered in response. But that didn't seem to satisfy Joy at all because she started staring at the redhead as if she'd expect any further expressions. Silence.

"You don't recognize me at all, hm?", the white-haired girl asked while a sad smile appeared on her lips which made Phoenix feel even more helpless. She just had no idea where this whole situation would lead or should because Joy obviously tried to get somewhere. "Uhm, I'm afraid I don't know where I have seen you before", the redhead answered carefully.

Joy sighed soundless and looked at the window next to the table they were sitting at, then she took a deep breath, opened her mouth, but closed it again without saying anything. After a short while a smile was back on her lips and she acted as if nothing had happened.

"But I came here to ask you something else."

"Aha . . ." Greatest comment ever and Phoenix felt like slapping herself mentally for it. But Joy just ignored it and continued talking:

"Well, I guess you know that I'm the leader of the team called 'Whisper' and I've heard that you still haven't accepted the offer of Simca to join 'Genesis' . . ." The white-haired girl took a deep breath and looked at the redhead in nervous anticipation

"Yeah, you're right about that", Phoenix mentioned suspiciously.

"I wanted to ask you if you'd like to become a member of my team, a member of 'Whisper'." She paused and crossed her arms in front of her chest then she leaned back and waited. Phoenix lowered her head without saying a word, suddenly she noticed that the lady who drank coffee at the one table and ate cake at another had already left. The cafe had become empty, Akira was drying the dishes behind the counter, dull sounds of different voices could be heard through the closed glass doors.

"Why do you want me to join your team?", Phoenix broke the silence after a few moment with a very calm voice then she raised her view to look straight into the ice-blue orbs of the young girl sitting across from her. A soft chuckle escaped Joy's lips before she answered:

"Well, it's not that big of a secret that you are a very fast rider - Spitfire's so-called best student. However, I know that you compete in these Underground Races from time to time and you're good at it because you are fast . . . the fastest rider of the Flame Road who isn't a member of a team yet. So, I think it's actually quite reasonable for me to ask you . . ."

"You've got a point . . . okay, I'll join your team, but only under one condition."Phoenix held up one pointing finger with a very serious look on her face while Joy could only nod in surprise because she'd never thought that the redhead would accept her offer so soon. "I'll be allowed to leave the team at any time without having to explain the reasons to you."

Silence grew between them and Joy crossed her arms in front of her chest eyeing Phoenix warily. Then she sighed and nodded in agreement. "Okay, but in exchange the fights of my team will have highest priority."

The redhead thought this condition through and nodded carefully after a while. "We've got a deal."

#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#

"Who was that girl?", Akira asked curiously as Pheonix returned to the counter. "None of your business", she mumbled while watching the glass door closing behind the girl with the blazing white hair. Akira sighed and slightly shook his head. "You really remind me of an old friend old mine."

Phoenix raised an eyebrow. "Really? Who? A girl?"

"Nah, none of your business." The spikey-haired guy grinned widely at her while Phoenix tried to kill the urge hitting him for using her own words against her. In the end she just tried to stare a hole into the back of his head. After a while she gave up on it and walked over to a young woman with pitch-black hair to ask her what she'd like to order. Akira looked by himself if there were any other new customers, but he couldn't find any, so he filled a new cup with coffee and took a sip of the hot, brown liquid. But then he suddenly noticed a bird sitting on the top of a street lamp not that far from the cafe. It was quite uncommon to see birds like that one in a shopping mall like this. It wasn't really the place where you'd expect hunting birds like a falcon. Akira looked at the bird for a while and as the seconds passed by a slight shiver ran down his spine because it seemed more and more the way that the falcon was staring straight at him, or at least at this cafe. Then he closed his eyes and shook his head and when he opened his eyes again the bird was gone.

"Weird", he mumbled as he took another sip of coffee.

#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#

It was around half past six in the evening as Phoenix finally left the cafe. Akira had left earlier because of his girlfriend or something like that, she hadn't really been able to understand his mumbling before he had left about an hour ago.

Phoenix shouldered her bag and arranged the scarf on her shoulders once again before turning around to walk home. _Did I do the right thing by accepting her offer?_

It had been a spontaneous idea to join_ Whisper _. . . Joy knew her and she knew something about her which Phoenix obviously had forgotten, something important. Maybe it was time to move forward to stop whining about all the things she doesn't know, the fact that she's different from everybody else. Maybe it was time to face these cloudy pictures which kept appearing in her dreams, leaving her restless one night after another. Actually she just wanted to keep on living a normal life like she did for the last three years, she didn't want to be reminded of the days back when she was sitting in the dirt of the streets, terribly hungry and lonely . . . even though she'd never admit it, but she had been happier than it had seemed when Spitfire had talked to her for the first time. She didn't want to loose that, this guarantee that there was someone waiting for her at a warm and dry apartment.

But standing still wouldn't lead her anywhere and considering the fact that weird things started happening she had to accept that something was about to move in her life and if she didn't move by herself, if she didn't take the first step by herself, she'd maybe loose more than she could think of-

„OUCH!"

„Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't watch where - YOU?"

Phoenix stared with shock-widened eyes at the girl sitting in front of her on the ground staring right back at her. It was that brown-haired girl from the other day.

„Hi . . ."

„Hey . . ."

(It has taken me about four weeks to get past these lines .)

Silence grew between them and they simply stood between all those people who were rushing by, hurrying home. Finally Phoenix cleared her throat and reached out to help Yayoi getting up. „Sorry, I didn't see you", the redhead apologized once again and Yayoi returned a gentle smile after brushing the dust off her jeans. „Doesn't matter", she said and picked up the bag which had been sent to the ground as well.

„Uhm, say, are you hungry?", Phoenix asked out of a sudden idea. Yayoi raised both eyebros and shrugged.

„A littlebit, I guess."

A wie smile appeared on Phoenix' face and she continued asking:"How about a sushi? I'll treat you."

The other girl's eyes became round and big in surprise. „You'd treat me to sushi?" It wasn't quite the cheapest meal to treat someone and that girl didn't even know her that well . . . did she?

Now it was Pheonix' turn to shrug. „I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't mean to do it, right?"

„Guess you're right", Yayoi muttered, „okay, I still have two hours till I have to be home."

„Great, let's go", the redhead grinned and turned around towards the next sushi restaurant whose owner was a regular customer at the cafe where Phoenix was working.

„Hey, little sunshine!", the owner shouted as Phoenix walked in and shot an annoyed gaze at the middle-aged man who just started laughing at the look on the red-haired girl's face. „Come one, little bird, don't look that way, you'll get wrinkles."

Yayoi bit her lower lip to prevent a soft chuckle from escaping her lips as she followed Phoenix to a table at the rear of the restaurant. The owner served another customer in the meantime, but there was still a little smile visible at the corners of his mouth.

„So, how about we start with green tea?", Phoenix suggested and Yayoi just nodded while studying the menu. The redhead ordered the two cups of tea and when the waitress had left, she took a deep breath before asking: „May I ask what your name is?"

Yayoi's head jerked(?) up and her eyes were widened in pure surprise again. „Oh my, haven'tI told you yet? I'm so sorry, how impolite . . . my name's Yayoi."

An amused grin spread across Phoenix' face and she responded: „Nice to meet you, Yayoi. I'm Phoenix."

„Phoenix? Really? Like the bird?"

The redhead chuckled slightly amused. „Yeah, just like that fantastic fire-bird of these countless legends." But she couldn't quite ignore the stabbing pain inside of her chest as she said this, well, the more she was surprised as Yayoi mentioed with a total serious tone in her voice:

„I never thought that the Phoenix is only a legend." THen the brown-haired girl recognized the disbelief in the eyes of the other girl and lowered her gaze at the table in embarassment. „I-I'm sorry, my parents lways told me to be careful with these statements, but I'm simply a great fan of legends and myths . . . and so on."

„Why do you think so?" Now there was the same serious tone in the redhead's voice which did confuse Yayoi for a short while. She gulped and said: „Uhm, I guess, it was because of these countless stories and those countless different characters -"

„No", Phoenix interrupted her smilingly, „Why are you so sure about the fact that the Phoenix isn't just a legend."

„Oh, well, you see when i was a little kid, my mother took me to a second-hand bookshop where I found an old book about egyptian legends. In that book there was a story that said that the Phoenix once was the princess of the south, but as she was young she had suffered of a high fever and was about to die. But because of the begging of a star who had fallen for the princess, the Grim Reaper agreed to help her. But in exchange he took half of her heart, so she'll never be able to feel true love. The sky who the princess was proposed to became very furious because in his opinion the Reaper had taken his future wife from him. Unable to control his anger he pulled out one of the phoenix' wings and threw her down to the earth. Her flaming feather lighted up the night-sky and in that book it was said that the fall of the phoenix was the first shooting star in human history. I always thought that somehow it was the most romantic story I've ever read." Yayoi sighed with a dreamy smile on her lips and looked up at the decorated japanese lamp which was hangging over their table for a moment. Silence grew between them, but Yayoi didn't really notice it. The waitress brought to cups of tea, they ordered something to eat, but Phoenix didn't even realize it - it was like her lips moved on their own, forming words that didn't reach her ears.

„Is everything okay?", Yayoi asked after a while with a worried look in her eyes. Phoenix snapped out of her daze and shook her head a bit then she looked up and smiled a bit unsure. „Nothing's wrong, sorry I was just thinking of . . . something. That story is really interesting . . . so in your opinion the existence of shooting stars is a proof that the Phoenix isn't just a legend?"

A soft chuckle escaoed Yayoi's lips and she mentioned: „It doesn't sound that much convincing if you say it like this."

Phoenix grinned. „Sorry . . . I didn't mean to offend you."

Yayoi just shook her head and waved aside. „Noo offence taken. At least you let me tell you the stor till the end. A friend of mine only made it halfway through before being interested in the training of her crush again."

The waitress brought two plates with different kinds of sushi on it, said „Enjoy your meal" with a perfect smile on her rouged lips and walked away again.

„So, you're riding ATs?", Yayoi asked after a while and Phoenix simply nodded with both chopsticks in her mouth. „You too?", the redhead wanted to know after swallowing rice and salmon, but Yayoi shook her head in amusement.

„Nope . . . "

„Ever thought about starting?"

„Nah, I don't think that this is a kind of sport for me."

„So what kind of sport would be the right one for you?"

Yayoi thought about the question for a while before answering: „I like athletics."

„Hm", Phoenix raised both eyebrows, „athletics isn't that different from riding ATs, you know."

The other girl sighed. „Yeah, maybe, but all this jumping and racing at full speed - I just can't imagine to like that. I mean, even though I'm in the track team for a few years by now I've never won a lot."

„The one who stands on the side for a long time, might know more about the topic then the shooting star on the field", the red-haired girl mentioned with a sparkle in her red eyes, but Yayoi simply shrugged.

„I'm not so sure about that."

+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+#+

It had gotten dark outside when the two girls said goodbye. Yayoi thanked Phoenix for the meal and Phoenix hust smiled at her and mentioned that the pleasure was hers to talk to someone like Yayoi.

As the brown-haired girl dissappeared around the next corner the smile vanished from Phoenix' face and suddenly she felt terribly lonely standing in ront of that friendly lit resturant. Yayoi's word were still echoed in her head.

_the princess of the south . . . had suffered of a high fever and was about to die . . . the Grim Reaper agreed to help her . . . the sky threw her down to the earth. Her flaming feather lighted up the night-sky and in that book it was said that the fall of the phoenix was the first shooting star in human history._

It was indeed a nice story, but it wasn't hers, right?

Lost in her thoughts Phoenix started walking home. She didn't notice that she slightly bumped into several people. Angry voices were nothing more than flannely sounds.

She had been a bird with flaming red feathers. The sun had set them aflame because she had been jealous. She had never been a princess right?

Phoenix shook her head. There was no way the legend Yayoi had read was true. She would remember it, right? She'd remember her former live . . . and she did. She remembered the pain of the burning feathers. There was a scar on her back because . . . why was there a scar on her back when nothing had happened to her wings besides being set aflame?

When she had tried to spread her wings, it had hurt terribly. _Did I try to open a wound which was almost healed?_

Phoenix stopped when she was about to walk out of a narrow side-street, a shortcut to Spitfire's appartment. I do remember everything. . . everything. . . .everything. . . . her eyes became cloudy as she realized what she really remembered clearly.

_I remember everything from the laboratory, the escape, the live ob the street with Falk, the accident when Falk died and the time when she lived on the street alone before Spitfire had picked me up._

A cold wind started blowing and she felt that her eyes started burning, hot tears were flowing down her cheeks and she didn't know why. She covered her face and sank down to the ground.

She didn't remember anything from her life before the laboratory, there were just cloudy pictures flying through her head, the only clear memory of her life before the lab was . . . PAIN. She could say for sure that she had felt terrible pain before she had met the eyes of the little girl at the lab.

But she would have never thought about the possibility that the pain wasn't the pain of her burning feathers, but of one wing being ripped off.

The redhaired girl cowerd on the ground. Nobody noticed the soft sobbing and the whispered words „Why am I here?"

Nobody turned around to look at the flaming red hair surrounded by the darkness of the up-coming night; nobody did . . . except of a teenage boy who stopped right in front of the crying girl. Shining, yellow eyes filled with deep pain as he saw Phoenix in front og him on the ground. A cold bbreeze moved his brown hair and the two scars which formed a cross over his right eye became visible.

„Don't cry", he whispered as he kneeled down to stroke Phoenix' red hair with one hand. But as she noticed the other person, as she heard his voice her head shot up and her dark-red eyes were widened and filled with shock, surprise, fear and even true horror.

„Falk?"

**Okay, I think it gets kinds confusing and if you think so, too, please tell me I'll try to get the story a little clearer during the next chapters. *cough* If you disliked something, tell me, if you liked something, tell me and if you like to read something special in the upcoming chapters, feel free to let me know ^^ **

**If nobody mentions something like that, you'll have to deal with my confusing plans of the story for a bit longer. X3**

**LEAVE A REVIEW! THANKS!**

**Bye FreakyPumpkin ^^v**


	4. True Story

**Hey :) yeah, I won't even start tryin' to apologize or explain why it took so long to update. I was just honestly busy and even forgot about this story completely. But because Phoenix is a character that keeps coming back to me. I finally wrote the fourth chapter. :)**

**It's gotten a bit darker then the others before, but I think it actually kinda fits the story. ^^ Oh, and I hope my english hasn't gotten worse over the past time. **

**Well, have fun reading! **

**Chapter 4 "True story"**

Spitfire was worried and Nue was annoyed like hell.

Calm down, Spitfire. She's no child anymore, there will definitely be a perfect reasonable explanation for her staying out this late. "

The Thunder King had lost track of how often he had repeated those lines during the last hour, but it didn't matter anyway because nothing seemed to calm his friend down. He had also thought of the possibility that Phoenix had a secret lover and had decided to stay over at his place - or hers. But he hadn't brought it up because he had feared that Spitfire might have strangled him for that.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure that's what the parents thought before finding out that their child had been kidnapped, raped and killed!" Spitfire almost screamed, but it didn't change anything about the whole situation and Nue felt like he was the only one to notice this at the moment. He sighed.

"It's two o'clock in the morning. If she doesn't show up till the sun rises I promise you to help looking for her with everyone of my team. Okay?"

The Flame King stared at his friend, not sure how to react to these words. He himself had already searched the streets, but he hadn't found even the faintest glimpse of read hair. Nue had almost dragged him back to his apartment and since then he was running around in circles in the living room. Spitfire was tired and he hated the fact that right now there war nothing else he could do beside waiting. He had already left dozens of messages on Phoenix' mobile phone, but she didn't call back - not even an SMS.

Phoenix wasn't a member of Genesis or any other team and because of that there were no teammates they could ask for help. Or who would be also worried about her. He had even called Simca, but she had only laughed. The two girls never really had had the greatest potential to become best friends or something similar, but Spitfire hadn't expected her to care so very little. Could it be possible that she was still pissed at Phoenix for refusing to join Genesis? Maybe her grudge had another reason, but right now it didn't help, so Spitfire pushed that thought away.

"You should get some sleep", Nue mentioned calmly, but the Flame King shook his head furiously.

"How am I supposed to sleep now?", he demanded to know with a look on his face that clearly doubted the Thunder King's common sense. Nue sighed in annoyance.

"Shall I knock you unconscious?"

#+#+#+#+#+#+#

When Phoenix opened her eyes the whole room was spinning and her head was throbbing with pain. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to force the two lamps hanging over her head to merge into one again. That attempt wasn't quite successful, so she turned her head slowly from right to left, trying to find out where she was. Her body felt exhausted and on her cheeks she could feel the cracking sensation of dried tears. After a few moments she tried to sit up and even succeeded doing so, but she still couldn't decided which one of the two windows on the wall across from her was the real one. It was an apartment, so much she could tell. One that was much smaller then the one Spitfire shared with her. Spitfire. He must be worried, she thought warily.

There was someone else in the room, she could feel it, but she couldn't find him - or her.

Groaning she rubbed her eyes, as she suddenly heard the soft voice of a young man reaching her ears.

"Oh, good you're awake again."

The relief in the voice made Phoenix almost bursting with rage. Yeah, she was awake, but she felt like shit. It wasn't that sleepy feeling after a short night of uneasy sleep. It was ... something else. She never had been one to get a good night of sleep easily, but she also had never felt that busted the next morning.

"Where am I?", she mumbled. She felt like screaming and shouting, but her lips had another opinion. Her whole body reacted only slowly to the commands of her brain. Though she had to admit that it wasn't that easy to get her brain to give commands, It was like she was completely packed in some kind of weird fog. Fog. FUCK.

"You are safe - now you are save."

She knew that face that appeared in front of her. Those brown bangs, that one eye and she definitely knew that if she'd brushes the bangs aside she would find a cross-shaped scar. Falk. Slowly her memory began to regenerate. The street. It had been dark. Tears. She had been screaming and then ... Phoenix felt like vomiting.

"You bastard drugged me", she realized with honest disbelief. At least the words now came out clearer then before. "You really had the balls to drug me."

A dry laugh escaped her lips. Falk swallowed and turned his eyes towards the floor, but his discomfort was clearly noticeable. "I had to improvise", he whispered. "You started yelling at me and hitting ..."

Phoenix took a few deep breaths because her stomach really was about to turn over.

"I yelled at you?", she repeated, but was saying the words more to herself than to Falk. "I hit you ..."

With these words she started to get up which kind of ended up in a not really lady-like stumbling. Falk reached out to help her, but she pushed his hand away and rather let herself fall back onto the bed she had been sleeping in. Her gaze almost burned holes into Falk's one visible eye.

"I thought you were dead the last few years", she started with a deadly calm voice, but then her emotions broke through and her shouting filled the room. "HOW THE FUCK DO YOU THINK I SHOULD REACT WHEN YOU SUDDENLY SHOW UP AGAIN?!"

Falk didn't respond anything. He also didn't seem to be angry at her in any way for the shouting and everything else - not that Phoenix would have been even close to apologizing for anything of that. He simply looked at her, directly meeting the anger in her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

His voice was calm and low. Suddenly Phoenix noticed her own heavy breathing. She swallowed and tried to calm her heartbeat. Was it even herself who calmed her anger? Or was it Falk? His voice? A part of her felt stupid for freaking out like that - another part of her still wanted to throw the man in front of her through the next window. He had acted wrong, right? She was right to be angry. Phoenix felt unsure, confused and just damn helpless.

Whatever she had told herself over the last few years, she had missed Falk so much. And now he stood in front of her all of a sudden. He was alive, he was here with her. Why didn't she just hug him tight, promising to never ever let him go again?

Oh, right, because he had drugged her.

"I wanted to show myself earlier, but I had Hawk on my tail. She is looking for you as well and I doubt that she simply wants to have a nice chat."

Wha-? Hawk.

Phoenix knew that name, but she couldn't recall a face. Hawk was dangerous. That was all she knew about that name. She was dangerous. Hawk was a woman and something about that name reminded Phoenix of the sharp cold in the deepest of winter. Hawk. Dangerous. Winter. Bad.

She narrowed her eyebrows and started chewing on her lower lip. Falk tilted his head a bit. Clear confusion rose in his one visible eye.

"You do remember her, right?", he asked carefully.

Phoenix snapped out of her daze and looked at him with big, round eyes.

"She's dangerous, right?"

From the look on his face she could tell that this hadn't been the answer he had wanted to hear. He narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, she is dangerous, but is this all you remember?"

Phoenix squeezed her eyes shut, trying hard to remember anything else, but it didn't work. She sighed and threw her hands through the air. "Dunno, is she your ex-girlfriend?", she guessed.

Wrong again, she thought as she watched the confusion in Falk's face turning into serious worry.

"She's the ruler of the northern sky", he explained in that same careful, slow way as he had done before. "Phoenix, do you remember what had been before the laboratory?"

Phoenix grunted and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Of course", she said. "We were birds in the sky. My feathers weren't burning back then, but one day the sky fell for me and the sun grew jealous and set them aflame. I fell because of the pain - then I was brought to the laboratory." She paused for a short time. "You were caught, too, when you came to search for me, right?"

Now she couldn't understand the reaction of Falk at all. The worry in his eye turned into disbelief, then pain and deep sorrow, also she could spot a little anger, but it was mostly drowned in the pain. And there was something else that touched Phoenix deep in her heart without her understanding why.

Hopelessness.

Falk felt hopeless. His shoulders sank, his gaze faded to the floor again, then escaped out of the window. What was wrong? That had been what has happened before the laboratory, right? Phoenix was absolutely sure. She of all people had to know what had happened to her, right? And still ... she couldn't get rid of the feeling that she had done something wrong.

_The princess of the South. She got a fever in her early youth. The Grim Reaper saved her for the price of one half of her heart. _

No, that wasn't her story.

"Phoenix", Falk's voice let her snap out of her thoughts. He looked straight at her again. HIs gaze was the one of a doctor who was about to tell his patient that he had a tumor. But Phoenix didn't want to have a tumor. She wanted to be back at Spitfire's apartment. She wanted her life as it had been during the last few years.

"The sun is your mother, Soleil, and ruler of the southern sky. Therefore you are the rightful heir to that throne, but you got a very bad fever when you were young, but your mother prayed for your health, so death did spare your life."

Phoenix felt her breath getting faster again. Her heart was pounding in her chest so hard that she feared it might jump right out of it. Every single word Falk spoke pierced her heart, her soul. She didn't want to hear more. She wanted her old story to be true.

"The ruler of the four winds fell for you, but you rejected his feelings. So he grew angry at you and ..." He swallowed hard and seemed to fight against the urge to break eye-contact. "... and he ripped of one of your wings. That's the reason you fell."

Phoenix was close to screaming, but the screams just didn't come out of her throat. She felt so lost in despair. A very familiar pain suddenly started throbbing in her back. That was the reason she couldn't spread her wing? Not because her feathers had been burned or because it had been broken? It simply wasn't there anymore, ripped off, torn apart.

"No", she started whispering. Her heavy breathing turned into sobbing. Tears started flowing down her cheeks without her even noticing. "No, no, no, no ..."

She didn't even have the power to push Falk away as he pulled her into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry", he whispered. Warm breath tickling the skin of Phoenix' neck, bringing back another memory she had forgotten. Not much, just a fading sensation.

"No, no, no, no ... that can't be ... I remember ... "

Well, what did she remember? A new stream of tears broke free and it seemed like it had it's origin in the depths of her soul. How long had they waited to be cried?

She didn't remember anything. She was so damn helpless. It was frustrating.

She cried till no tears were left and her body didn't have the strength to shake. Her voice had gotten hoarse from sobbing, muttering and choked screams. Her limps felt numb and finally she felt a pleasant calmness overtaking her. It was that first moment of ease when suddenly a thought crossed her mind.

"Why did I reject him?"

She felt Falk's body stiffening. His hold around her shoulders grew more tight and he swallowed hard before he answered.

"You rejected him because we were lovers."

His voice was so quiet that Phoenix might have overheard his words if it hadn't been for the fact that he was sitting so close. She raised her face, but he refused to look back at her.

"We were lovers?", she repeated slowly. Her heart didn't respond to that thought at all. So Phoenix decided to do the same thing. She pulled away from Falk, stood up and looked back at him.

"I will leave now."

With these words she turned around and started walking towards the door. Falk got up behind her and grabbed her wrist.

"What are you going to do?", he asked. Phoenix turned around and looked at him with empty eyes.

"What do you expect me to do?"

Falk's lips turned into a strict line and his face was a absolute serious mask when he answered:

"I want you to stay here with me where you are save."

Phoenix felt a smile forming on her lips, but it was cold and sharp on her skin.

"That's why I will leave."

He let go of her wrist and she left.

#+#+#+#+#+#+#

Outside of the building Phoenix sat down on a bench. She had no idea where she was and how she'd get home. Her bag was still upstairs, but she didn't want to go bag to pick it up. If she was as important to Falk as he had told her, he might give it back one day.

"So, where am I going from here?", she mumbled, looking around while still caught in that numb emptiness. Suddenly a vibration made her jump off the bench. With a racing heart, she fell to the ground and for a second she suspected an earthquake, but then realized that it was just her mobile phone. She always kept it in the pocket of her jeans, on vibration. With a deep breath she pulled it out and switched the display on.

107 missed calls. 56 new messages.

Still sitting on the ground she started checking her messages.

Hey, I thought about salmon for tomorrows dinner.

How about it? There's a sale at the supermarket.

Spit

Where are you i expected you at home an hour ago.

Dinners getting cold. ;D

Spit

Seriously, Phoenix, did I miss a note again that you'll stay out with friends?

I'm a little worried. ó.ò

Spit

Hey, why aren't you answering your phone?

Has something happened? Please call back!

Spit

Okay, now I am really worried. Where the hell are you, Phoenix?

Spit

Phoenix! PLEASE CALL BACK!

Going crazy right now! Q.Q

It went on like this and the messages on her mailbox. It ended with a mixture of Spitfire screaming and crying at the same time. Phoenix suspected alcohol and somewhere in the back she once could hear Nue's voice. So Spitfire had at least not been alone the whole night. Phoenix felt sorry for him and bad for making him worry like that, but at the same time she felt ... warm. That was her life, right? That was the right one? This was the world she belonged to, right?

It had taken about an hour to go through every message left by the Flame King and her butt started feeling cold from sitting on stone the whole time. So Phoenix pulled herself up onto the bench again. Then she started dialing Spitfire's phone number. Hopefully he could pick her up because she didn't feel like going by train with her head still dizzy.

"Spit? Hey, it's me-"

"OH MY GOD! ARE YOU OKAY? HAVE YOU BEEN KIDNAPPED? RAPED? ABUSED? FORCED TO SELL DRUGS? ROBBED? HURT?"

Phoenix had to move the phone from her ear to not go deaf. She smiled and felt so unbelievably save by simply hearing his voice. Spitfire had always been there for her during the last few years. Little tears started burning in her eyes and she tried hard not to let the sobbing entering her voice. The Flame King would pretty much going crazy.

Thanks, she thought. Out loud she said:

"I'm fine, Spitfire, but could you come to pick me up? I ... I lost my wallet."

There was the sound of something falling down on the other side of the line.

"Damn garbage cans ...", she could hear Spitfire mutter. Then the sounds of passing cars. "Already on my way - where are you?"

Phoenix looked around her. She tried concentrating, but failed. If she had been fully awake she might have been able to localize where she was, but sadly she wasn't even close to that. Finally she sighed and gave up.

"I'm not sure ... there's a street and trees next to it. And - oh, there's a supermarket across the street ...?"

She could have also told him that she was somewhere in Japan, but Spitfire just said:

"Got it. Stay there, I'll get you."

Then the line was cut off. Phoenix leaned back and looked at the sky.

_The ruler of the four winds, the sky itself ripped off the princess' wing and let her fall down to the earth. _

What did the princess trade for her life to Grim Reaper again?

Half of her heart. That was it what that girl had told her.

Phoenix closed her eyes.

If that story was true, she should have already died a long time ago. Maybe now that Hawk was looking for her, her time had finally come. She wouldn't hide. Her own body once had been sentenced to death by a fever, but she didn't die. The sky itself had wanted to see her dead by falling to the earth, but she didn't die.

"I'm alive", she whispered. Those words filled her chest with a cold feeling.

She wouldn't hide. She'd fight and then she'd either loose or win. She'd die or live. If her wing really had been ripped off, she would never be able to fly again anyway.

**That's it for the day! Please leave a review of what you liked what you didn't like. Have a nice day. ;D**

**By FreakyPumpkin**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi there, I'm back or still alive - however you want to put it. ;P And I'm not giving up on this story (so please no flipping tables, I'll keep writing, promised ^^v) I might add a title to this chapter later on, but right now, I can't think of a good one. I'll take suggestions. :)**

**Chapter 5 **

Phoenix wasn't allowed to go anywhere alone the following days. As soon as she let alone looked at the door, Spitfire would be by her side asking 'Where are you going?'. It had become sort of a game where Phoenix would say something like 'Africa' or 'Paris' in response. It lightened Phoenix mood a little and saddened her at the same time. She had been in a very foul mood since that meeting with Falk and the fact that she didn't even had the courage to tell Spitfire the whole story, didn't make things better ... or easier. But Phoenix wasn't quite ready to face these details, which she hadn't told the Flame King, herself. Phoenix loved him for worrying so much about her, but at the same time she felt the growing weight of her guilty conscience. All Spitfire knew was that she had been out with a friend and had spent the night at his place - just sleeping, nothing happened (something she had to swear on her ATs). In the morning she had had a fight with said friend and she had left. So far the story and it wasn't even exactly a lie, but it wasn't the truth either.

Phoenix kept replaying Falks words over and over again in her head, but what really kept stuck in her mind was the look on his face. The pain, the sorrow, the fading hope. His voice rang in her mind, mixing with the soft note of a long forgotten memory. That meeting had strung a cord in her chest, leaving it vibrating with a stinging pain. She hadn't noticed it before as it was completely swallowed by her anger, but now ... her rage, the words she had thrown at Falk, seemed like a bad excuse to just push him away. To push the thoughts away, the feelings that had started coming back to live along with Falk.

Phoenix took a deep breath and stared at the TV, hoping that the moving pictures would provide her with an answer or at least a suggestion what she should do next. How to move on ...

"Falk is alive", she whispered absent-mindedly. "Falk is alive."

The soft sound of nearby footsteps made her snap out of her thoughts. Phoenix tore her eyes away from the TV towards the door of the living-room. Spitfire stood there, drying his hands from washing the dishes of their dinner. His eyes were trained on her, looking worried; deep and honest. Phoenix wanted to throw herself into his arms, bury her face in his chest and tell him everything. She didn't.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

His voice was soft and low, a bit like velvet or a warm blanket wrapped around one's shoulders after a long time outside in the cold. Spitfire had held her in a tight hug so many times over the last three years. She had cried with her face buried in the crook of his neck. After she had woken up from nightmare, after a bad fall. He had mumbled calming, reassuring words. Now Phoenix shied away from the thought of him holding her alone.

What had happened? What had changed since the last time?

Spitfire had never scolded her for waking him up in the middle of the night or for crawling into his bed because of the threatening eyes she'd seen beneath her own.

'You lied', whispered a little voice inside of Phoenix' head. 'You lied and he knows it.' Phoenix' eyes started burning, but her whole body screamed _Don't cry!_.

For the first time in these three years she didn't want Spitfire to be there for her. She wanted to feel the cold loneliness, wanted to feel the pain because she deserved it for lying to Spitfire ... for pushing Falk away. She had started to push Spitfire away, too, pushing him out of her life of which she didn't know what it really was anymore.

What am I? A bird? A princess? Both? Nothing?

Phoenix wanted to share these questions with Spitfire, but again she didn't.

"No, I don't want to talk about it ... it's okay, I'm fine." Her own voice was distant and hoarse. She kept lying, kept pushing things away. And the worst part was that Spitfire knew what she was doing. He just didn't know why or had the wrong guess. Whatever it was, he accepted it. Probably he thought it wasn't his business which technically was true, but therefore it wasn't automatically the right thing to do ... right?

Phoenix felt how her head started spinning with questions she didn't have an answer to. It sucked and maybe a littlest fresh air would help.

She stood up from the couch where she had spent most of the day, and headed for the door. When she passed Spitfire, he asked again:

"Where are you going?" There was still a trace of the worry in his voice Phoenix had seen in his eyes before, but mostly he spoke in the way parents questioned their kids. It brought a smile on her lips. While grabbing her shoes, Phoenix answered over her shoulder:

"London."

She could hear a light chuckle.

"Cool, let's go together."

Then there was the sound of retreating footsteps. He probably went back into the kitchen to put away the towel he had been drying his hands with. Just as Phoenix reached for her jacket, he reappeared in the hallway, a content smile on his lips with a slight outline of relief. Phoenix felt a pang in her chest, but didn't let it show on her face or at least that she hoped.

It had become a game ... and in a game someone would always lose.

Phoenix had decided not to hide, but that didn't mean she would not hide the fight that was coming. She would fight and if she failed she old lose ... nobody else.

The nights had gotten colder with every passing day, but Azarni loved the way the freezing wind cut into her bare skin. Mizuki had once told her that it was also that feeling he loved the most while riding.

'You should try it out, give it a shot', he had suggested, but Azarni had always turned down his offers to teach her. Only when he had become Storm King he had stopped asking her. Everything had changed that one day even if she didn't notice it rig away. Azarni shook her head slightly to get rid of these dark thoughts. Luckily the wind was growing stronger. It caught every last one of these dark memories and teared them from her skin, from her mind, along with the tears she had never cried. Mizuki had died as the Kind he had become and not the man she could have fallen for.

Now Azarni was bound to a new King, the Rumble King Yoshitsune and after three years he was still alive. How would his story end?

Azarni took out her mobile phone while pushing herself into a sitting position on the rooftop where she had spent most of the past two hours. She had been just watching the darkening sky, the fading sunlight. It helped her making decisions; difficult decisions.

"Hey there, missing me already?", sounded the voice of the Rumble King at the other end of the line. Azarni felt a grin growing on her lips. She had met Yoshitsune just a few days ago to check on him and the regalia. Both were fine.

"I wanted to talk to you about something", Azarni explained, the grin fading from her face. She wasn't sure how Yoshitsune would react to what she was about to tell him and she was well aware of the fact that it might cost her her position as his tuner, but she had also made up her mind about this matter.

"Isn't that what phone calls are for?", Yoshitsune mentioned dryly, then he continued in a mocking-shocked tone, "because if not I've done it wrong all those years."

Azarni laughed despite herself. "Just shut up and listen, okay?"

"You got my full attention."

She bit her lip to drown another laugh at his deadly serious voice. Then she took a deep breath to calm her jamming heart and laid down on the rooftop again, staring at the stars above. The wind whispered her name, called her a coward and she covered her eyes with her one free hand as if it would help to drown the mocking voice of fear inside her head. The cold air drew scars on her skin.

"I will quit Tool Toul Too."

It seemed like the whole world went quiet for a moment. It wasn't exactly that 'everything stopped moving'-cliché, just seemed like everything that was alive in the world held its breath for split second.

"Will you quit as a tuner, too?"

Yoshitsune's voice was calm, even, unreadable. Azarni lifted the free hand from her face. The evening sky reappeared in her vision. The world around her started breathing again.

"No, I want to switch teams."

Her heart was beating hard in her chest. It threatened to brake through her ribcage or to escape through her lips when she opened her mouth too far.

"There is another team of tuners?"

She could hear the ruffling sound of fabric being brushed. Somewhere in the distance there was something metallic clinging against stone. The surprise in the voice of the Rumble Kind sounded honest. Azarni felt hope rising in her heart, though it did not slow down its beating.

"No, not really. There is a new team, consisting of riders and tuners, on of the underground teams that don't compete in the Parts War ... and there is a rumor that the leader of said team is both."

Azarni noticed the same rush of excitement she had felt the first time she had heard of said rumor. The leader of this team was said to be a very skilled rider who in question of style could be compared to the Wind Road and as for her tuning abilities ... well, some claimed she could almost reach the level of young prodigies of Tool Toul Too.

"Why do you want to change teams?"

Finally Azarni's heartbeat started calming down again. She had made her decision and she had told Yoshitsune. Now it was up to him how to react to this.

"Because I want to see more, hear more, feel more than I have before."

She could hear him nodding, muttering something under his breath.

"You want to quit being my tuner as well?"

Despite herself Azarni felt a grin playing across her lips.

"No, I'd like to stay your tuner."

"Great. So what's the name of that ominous team? Sound like an interesting bunch of people."

Azarni's grin broadened. Now all she had left to do was talking to Ine about quitting the team, but she had a feeling that the Pledge Queen wouldn't really shed a tear about Arzani leaving the team. A heavy weight was lifted from her shoulders as she answered:

"The team is called 'Whisper'."

Yayoi crossed her arms in front of her chest while starring at the screen of her laptop. She couldn't really remember how she had ended up looking for the pictures of sharks - great whites especially. But there it was. A collage of pictures of sharks with bared teethes, tearing apart sea lions or other unfortunate animals. When she was young there had been a bad incident with a panic attack because of jellyfish. Since then Yayoi had been scared of the ocean or deep open water in general. Lakes were okay, but only to a certain degree and now she was sitting at her desk, mesmerized with the beauty of these killers.

"Have I hit my head and can't remember it?", she mumbled and bit her lower lip absent-mindedly. She narrowed her eyes, glaring at the shark in the middle of the screen looking back at her with one dark eye. One eye. Her mind stared wandering towards blue hair and a sharp, almost manic grin. Yayoi pursed her lips.

"I don't like you", she muttered under her breath. Then she finally tore her eyes away from the screen and stood up from the chair in front of her desk. She had had crossed her legs beneath her and now they threatened to almost give out, not being able to hold her weight. Yayoi leaned onto her desk and the piano - which was standing next to her desk - for support. As her hand touched the cool, dark wood, she paused, eyes lingering on the instrument. It had been a serious piece of work, but finally with the help of her mother she had managed to get her old piano back into her room. In the same way she found herself fascinated by sharks, she felt the desire to play again. Her fingers itched to feel the cold surface of the keyboard again, the vibrations every played note caused. She suddenly missed the rush of excitement whenever she created a new melody by stringing notes together. It had to feel the same way a writer felt when composing sentences, stringing them together, creating foreign, never before seen places in the mind of the readers. Yayoi sighed.

"I really should go to bed."

**Yeah, me too, probably.** **Okay, I know it's not happening very much, but I promise on picking up the pace in the next chapter. ;)**

**I'm also slowly getting back into the fandom (got caught up pretty bad in the TMI-Fandom - like addictingly bad *cough*), but I won't forget about Air Gear. :) Not possible. So, I've also started working on a semi-AU AGxYa-FF, if anybody is interested.**

**Well, leave me reviews, they keep me writing. ;D Much love to all my amazing readers. :D Thanks for staying with me till now. ^^  
****Bye FreakyPumpkin **


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